SHAH NAMEH

(The Book of Kings)

by: Ferdowsi
 Shah Nameh
• epic composed by the Iranian poet Hakim
Abul-Qasim Mansur (later known as Ferdowsi
Tusi), and completed around 1010 CE

• chronicles the legends and histories of Iranian

(Aryan) kings from primordial times to the
Arab conquest of Iran in the 7th century CE, in
three successive stages: the mythical, the
heroic or legendary, and the historic
 Shah Nameh
• the world's longest epic poem written by a single poet

• is of central importance in Persian culture, regarded as

a literary masterpiece, and definitive of the ethno-
national cultural identity of modern-day Iran,
Afghanistan and Tajikistan

• important to the contemporary adherents

of Zoroastrianism, in that it traces the historical links
between the beginnings of the religion and the death
of the last Sassanid ruler of Persia during the Muslim
conquest which brought an end to the Zoroastrian
influence in Iran
 Shah Nameh
• written in classical Persian when the language
was emerging from its Middle Persian Pahlavi
roots, and at a time when Arabic was the
favoured language of literature

• Ferdowsi is seen as a national Iranian hero who

re-ignited pride in Iranian culture and literature,
and who established the Persian language as a
language of beauty and sophistication
 Ferdowsi
• born into a family of
landowners near the village
of Tus in the Khorasan
province of north-eastern
Iran
• Ferdowsi and his family were
called Dehqan, also
spelt Dehgan or Dehgān.
Dehqan /Dehgan is now
thought to mean landed,
village settlers, urban and
even farmer
 Ferdowsi
• married at the age of 28
• eight years after his
marriage - in order to
provide a dowry for his
daughter - Ferdowsi started
writing the Shahnameh, a
project on which he spent
some 33 years of his life
 Ferdowsi
• While Ferdowsi was composing the Shahnameh, Khorasan
came under the rule of Sultan Mahmoud, a Turkoman
Sunni Muslim and consolidator of the Ghaznavid dynasty to
whom Ferdowsi sought patronage and wrote verses in his
praise
• The sultan, on the advice from his ministers, gave Ferdowsi
an amount far smaller than Ferdowsi had requested and
one that Ferdowsi considered insulting
• fled to Mazandaran seeking the protection and patronage
of the court of the Sepahbad Shahreyar, who, it is said, had
lineage from rulers during the Zoroastrian-Sassanian era
where he wrote satirical verses against Mahmoud
 Ferdowsi
• returned to Tus to
spend the closing years
of his life forlorn.
Notwithstanding the
lack of royal patronage,
he died proud and
confident his work
would make him
immortal
 The Epic: Mythical
• Zoroastrianism
 ZOROASTRIANISM
• the ancient pre-Islamic religion
• one of the world's oldest monotheistic religions
• Founded by Zoroaster, an Iranian prophet, In 6th
Century BC.
• originated in Persia but most followers today live
in India and some still live in Iran.
• Followers who now live in India are called Parsis,
or Parsees.
• Nowadays the number of known followers range
from 150- 200,000
FARAVAHAR
 ZOROASTRIANISM
• Zoroastrianists believe that the only god in the
beginning of time was Ahura Mazda. (Wise Lord)
• He lived in Endless Light. (Before the world was
made.)
• At this time there was also an Evil Spirit, Ahriman,
who lived in the Absolute Darkness.
• Between these realms there was nothing until
one day Ahura decided to make other creations.
• Symbolizes the struggle between Endless Light
and Absolute Darkness.
 ZOROASTRIANISM: THE CREATION
• First creation he made was shaping the sky which was
made of "metal".
• Second was water.
• Third, he made the Earth with no mountains or valleys.
• Fourth, he made plants without any thorns or stickers.
• Fifth, he created big and small animals.
• Sixth, he created a man, handsome and smart, who
was named, Gayomard.
• Last of all he created fire to mix with all the other
creations. He ordered the fire to serve mankind in
cooking and keeping warm.
 ZOROASTRIANISM: THE DEMON
• After Ahura finished his creations the Evil
Spirit saw them. The Wise Lord (Ahura) then
comanded the Evil Spirit to praise all of his
creations so the Evil Spirit could become
immortal.
• The Evil Spirit thinking he was more powerful
than Ahura's creations vowed to destroy them
with the help of his own creations, demons,
witches and monsters
 ZOROASTRIANISM: Holy Spirits
• The all-knowing Ahura decided to create 6 Spirits
in his own essence to compete with Ahriman (the
Evil Spirit) known as the Holy Immortals.
• The first Holy Spirit was Khashathra, the
Righteous Power, guardian of the sky.
• Next was Haurvatat, the Peace and Perfection,
she was the protector of the water.
• Third was Spenta Armaiti, the Holy Devotion, she
was the Earth guardian.
 ZOROASTRIANISM: Holy Spirits
• Then the Holy Spirit, Ameretat, the
Immortality, the protector of the plants.
• Fifth, Vohu Manah, the Good Mind, was
created to protect the animals.
• Next was the Holy Spirit, Asha Vahishta, the
Justice, who was the guardian of the Fire.
• Lastly, the Wise Lord made his own Holy Spirit,
who was protector of mankind.
 ZOROASTRIANISM: First Man,Woman
• Ahriman, thinking he had defeated the man,
celebrated.
• But Gayomard's bones grew into a rhubarb
tree.
• 40 years later a man and a woman, Mashya
and Mashyana, grew out of the plant.
• From them 15 sets of twins were born and
branched out to make every race, all vowing
to follow the Wise Lord.
 ZOROASTRIANISM: The War
• Ahriman became mad at Ahura and declared war
against his creations.
• First Ahriman and his demons attacked the water
and made it bitter.
• Next he tried to destroy the earth but could only
make mountains and valleys.
• Then he and his demons tried to kill all the plants
but only put thorns on them.
• Last of all they attacked Gayomard and brought
him sickness and eventually death.
 ZOROASTRIANISM Beliefs
• Fire, to them, was just as important as water and was
treated as if it was a servant to humans.
• Also rhubarb was the basis of all life to them sense one
of their biggest crops was rhubarb.
• Man was deemed superior to woman sense all human
life started from Gayomard.
• Mankind, to them, was looked at as a type of mass
army against the Evil Spirit.
• Last of all the main theme of good and evil in the
Zoroastrianism creation myth shows that the Persian
Empire looked at wars with others as a good thing
How about in Shah Nameh?
The Epic: Heroic or legendary
The Epic: Historical